During the course of a surgical procedure, a surgeon opens tissue of a patient by first making at least one incision typically using a scalpel. After the incision is made in the tissue, refractors are then used to retract the periphery of the incision in order to open the incision further. Once retracted, the open incision allows the surgeon to access other tissues or organs within the body, for example. Apart from just providing access, the tissue retractors serve to stabilize and present said retracted tissue in an orientation that is optimal for the surgeon to operate on.
During the retraction of incised tissue, care must be taken to avoid inflicting new, or as the case may be, additional trauma such as bruising, for example. Bruising may also be caused by viscoelastic forces inherently present in the contracting muscles or tissues of the patient, as said contracting muscles or tissues work against the forces exerted thereon by the retractor. Accordingly, it is important to exercise care in the application of external forces typically requiring additional operating personnel during surgical procedures in order to minimize the possibility of causing any bruising or even tearing of the tissue during surgery.
In order to accommodate the aforesaid requirements of a tissue retractor (or surgical retractor), elastic surgical retractor systems have been used. Such elastic retractor systems typically include an elongated elastic member that is typically a length of hollow tubing. The elastic tube has its one end connected to a hooking mechanism adapted to engage with the incised tissue, in particular, along the periphery of the incision.
However, there is still a need for a tissue retractor that is easy to use, compact of a low-profile, portable and is yet cost-effective to manufacture, as recognized by the present invention.